The prank was a success, and both Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick couldn’t help but laugh.
"Give it back. These aren’t maggots. They’re highly nutritious tree worms, also called oakworms. They’ll definitely be delicious deep-fried."
Quincy looked at Evelyn with a complicated expression. "Your tastes are really something else."
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Come on, let’s head home. We’ve been on the move all day, and we’re dead tired."
"Mr. Graham has some food heated up. You can eat as soon as we’re back. No one’s gone to bed yet; everyone’s been waiting for you to return."
Quincy ran ahead to let the others know.
Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick entered the log cabin. The others were all sitting in the living room. The lights were off, with only a single kerosene lamp lit. Everyone was thrilled to see Evelyn and Ronan return. Taylor Vance’s eyes were a little red. He patted Ronan’s shoulder and whispered, "All that matters is that you’re back safe."
"You’re finally back." Ethan Dawson stepped forward and patted Ronan’s arm, while Zoe and Wendy threw themselves right into Evelyn’s embrace.
"It’s good to have you back. You must be hungry. Let’s eat first."
Officer Graham brought out the food, and everyone gathered around. Evelyn and Ronan went to wash their hands and change their clothes.
"You’ve all been waiting for us and haven’t eaten yet?" Evelyn asked, looking at them with disapproval.
"We’re not hungry. We took your advice and didn’t do any work today. We just sat around chatting."
"That’s right, Evelyn. We ate tons of snacks, so we’re not hungry at all."
Evelyn patted Wendy’s head. "Let’s eat. I’ll tell you about the base after dinner."
After dinner, everyone pitched in to clear the table. Joelle Finch went to wash the dishes, Wyatt Vaughn started brewing tea, and the others put things away in the storeroom. Once everything was tidy, they gathered back in the living room to talk.
"How were things outside today? Did the patrol come by?"
Quincy shook his head. "No, the patrols have all left. I was by the shore the entire time, and there were hardly any cars on the road. Nothing much happened today."
Evelyn nodded. "Ronan and I went to the refugee camp in Flumen. The conditions there are terrible. Forget having enough food or staying warm—the biggest problem is safety."
She took a sip of tea and continued, "There were some rich kids throwing their weight around, abducting young men and women from the camp. Those bodies we saw floating down the river? They were responsible for that."
"Those people are worse than animals."
"After we dealt with them, Ronan and I went to the base..."
Evelyn kept it brief, summarizing what they had discovered at the base that day. She also took out the large napa cabbages and eggplants from her dimensional space to show everyone.
"The base seems to be running fairly well, especially their livestock and agricultural operations. They have a good number of factories, too. It shouldn’t be hard for them to support a population of several hundred thousand."
Quincy frowned. "Evelyn, you said they’re feeding corpses to crocodiles. What if it’s like Wyrmrest Base? What if they end up breeding all kinds of viruses and nematodes? If the water and air get contaminated, we’re downstream—we’ll definitely be dragged into it."
Evelyn shook her head. "Ronan has already taken care of the crocodiles. We don’t know if there are other pits like it, so we’ll just have to play it by ear. A full-scale search would be too difficult. The base and Flumen cover a huge area. The main reason we spent so much time today was just the size of the base itself; we were wandering around inside for hours."
"The base has people genuinely trying to make things work, but it also has its share of parasites fishing in troubled waters. Cover the windows and don’t let any light show through. I expect patrols will be coming around to search for people soon."
"For now, we just need to worry about ourselves. Everyone’s tired today, so let’s all turn in early." Evelyn glanced at the time and couldn’t stop a yawn.
"You two should get some rest, too. It’s pitch-black out there. Rushing around all day in the dark must have been hard on your eyes."
As Officer Graham tidied the coffee table, Wendy and Zoe moved in perfect sync to give Evelyn a leg and back massage.
Evelyn laughed at their antics and gave them each a White Rabbit creamy candy.
Back in the bedroom, Evelyn entered her dimensional space to get cleaned up. She had just finished drawing a hot bath when Ronan appeared behind her.
Despite driving all day, Ronan was still full of energy. He went to check on their two pigs, built them a pen, and gathered all the chicken and duck eggs.
Evelyn marveled at his stamina. ’He never seems to get tired.’
"Ronan, the bath is ready. Stop working."
There was a surreal contrast between the scene—him squatting there to work, the rustic environment, the simple tools in his hands—and his exquisitely perfect face.
Smiling to herself, Evelyn laid out his pajamas and slippers before exiting the dimensional space.
Later, as she was drifting in a hazy sleep, Ronan lifted the covers and slipped into bed. Evelyn made a soft sound and instinctively leaned back, snuggling into his arms.
***
Evelyn slept for over ten hours straight. When she woke up, Ronan was already up and out. It was quiet outside. She listened for several minutes but heard nothing.
Evelyn stretched and slowly dragged herself out of bed.
There was some noise coming from the kitchen. When Evelyn went over, she found Wendy and Zoe making popcorn.
The front door opened, and Quincy and Ronan walked in from outside, holding flashlights. They had just completed a patrol circuit. They hadn’t found any bodies, and no patrols had come to search the area. It seemed everything was still quiet.
"Let’s have lamb hot pot today. It’s windy and cold outside."
Evelyn pulled her coat tighter. "Alright, this weather is perfect for some lamb soup."
Ronan came over and took Evelyn’s hand. "Why didn’t you sleep in a little longer?"
"I’ve had enough sleep."
By the time the others finished up in the storeroom and came out, Quincy had already finished chopping the lamb.
Evelyn grabbed a handful of the popcorn Wendy had made. It was sweet from the added sugar.
"Is today a special occasion?" Zoe asked, confused by why everyone seemed so happy.
Evelyn fed her a piece of popcorn. "Any day we can all eat together is a special day."
Zoe nodded. Then she leaned in close to Evelyn and whispered mysteriously, "Auntie, the little bird came back. It said everything’s normal outside."
Evelyn nodded. "I know. I’ll feed the little bird some worms in a bit."
While the log cabin was filled with warmth and lively chatter, the base was in an uproar over the sudden disappearance of the four rich brats and the destruction of the crocodile pit.
The base’s leadership issued an order, dispatching all patrol personnel to conduct a blanket search of the base and Flumen.
In the courtyard outside the crocodile pit, the men who had been mauled by dogs until they were unrecognizable were rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. The suspicion was that whoever destroyed the crocodile pit had also kidnapped the four rich brats.
However, over a thousand patrol personnel turned the base and Flumen upside down, but they couldn’t find a single trace of the four men.
On a mountain over a hundred kilometers away, a few young people clutched their belongings and hurried onward in a panic.
They were the ones who had killed the four rich brats. The instant their tormentors had tried to assault them, they had grabbed a kitchen cleaver and hacked them to death, mincing their bodies into pulp.
A voice in their heads was screaming at them to run, that they absolutely could not get caught.